Thursday, July 16, 2015

We continue to improve the Grand Blanc branch as Summer progresses, the latest changes being the newly painted reading room and the installation of a new Library Document Scanner (LDS).

Words of inspiration will be added to the blue stripe along the wall, in large while letters in fun fonts, which will create a more welcoming, cozy place to read and study.

New Scanner near PC Lab

For the last 2 years or so the Grand Blanc branch had a portable digital scanner which was complicated and not easily understood by library staff or the community. It worked, but it wasn't ideal. When we decided what improvements would be made using the generous gift by Dr. and Mrs. Claffey, an easy to use, self-serve scanner was on the list to modernize our services. It is already saving time and money for our patrons. In the middle of typing this post I helped a patron send her scanned document via email and saved her the cost of faxing!

So what can this scanner do? After scanning your document, you have the choice of emailing it to yourself or others or saving it to a USB/Flash drive (you can see the USB drive between the screen and scanner above). Previously you had to scan one page at a time, which was time-consuming, but this new machine has a top-feeder which allows you to scan many pages at once at the touch of a button.

Documents or photos can be saved as PDF, JPEG, or TIF files, and the color and quality can also be adjusted. In addition, the scanner also acts as a back-up printer if the main Xerox machine is in use. Copies at this machine are also 10 cents.

The last benefit is the ability to convert a document into Microsoft Word (.doc) format. We see many people who have a printed copy of their resume, but don't have a corresponding electronic copy. Previously this meant they have to retype the resume from scratch if they wanted to make changes, but this this scanner will make that unnecessary. Stop by to check it out!